[Athena007]

From CBn's Main Page (an article by: Heiko Baumann)...

The James Bond Toyota 2000GT
The history behind the car from 'You Only Live Twice.'

[Donovan]

Get eeen, queeeck!

[Turn]

Nice article.

It's stories like this that feed the Bond fan who wants to go beyond what's already out there. We know everything there is to know about the Aston Martin and such. But who really gives much thought to the Toyota GT?

[TheSaint]

Great article! I remember back when Dave Worrall was going to do a book on the other cars that have appeared in the films. I was really looking forward to it before it died on the vine. I'm not sure if one could write a book on the history of the 2000GT but, it would make a great chapter in a book about Bond's other movie cars.

[Qwerty]

Excellent article, Heiko. Very informative and enjoyable!

[Dalton's Wendy]

Qwerty, on 9 November 2005 - 23:22, said:

Excellent article, Heiko. Very informative and enjoyable!

MOST interesting article!

And one other point which I wish to add:

(quote) "By that time Japanese cars weren't to the world what they are nowadays. They were still pretty much exotic. Toyota wanted the car to show the world that they were serious car manufacturers who really understood their job. They needed to get a leg on the American market."

At that time, one must realize, Japanese cars were not considered merely exotic, as the article states -- they were considered a joke. One must bear in mind that, at that time, the American market was entirely dominated by what was known as "The Big Three": GM, Ford, and Chrysler.

What really brought Japanese cars into the forefront of the American market was the gasoline shortage of the mid-seventies.

So -- as a marketing ploy, this move most definitely ranked as a stroke of genius.

[TheSaint]

Just tried going to 2000GT.net-I think there's a problem. You really can't navigate through it.

[Athena007]

Turn, on 9 November 2005 - 17:54, said:

But who really gives much thought to the Toyota GT?

Heiko Baumann does.

[stromberg]

TheSaint, on 10 November 2005 - 06:41, said:

Just tried going to 2000GT.net-I think there's a problem. You really can't navigate through it.

Hmm... works fine for me. What's the problem?

[Double-Oh Agent]

Nice, informative article and good pictures. It's always interesting to read about the Bond series' old cars/gadgets/props/actors and the facts about/behind them.

[marktmurphy]

Excellent work- I'll have a good read of this at lunch. I didn't know that Cars of the Stars had made a replica; that's very interesting. Do you know if that's the one that was at the Paris motor show in 1996?

[Simon]

Superb article - amazing amount of work involved here, and another example of the fact that, 'there is further information out there, if attention to tight subject matters is practised.'

TheSaint, on 10 November 2005 - 03:47, said:

Great article! I remember back when Dave Worrall was going to do a book on the other cars that have appeared in the films. I was really looking forward to it before it died on the vine. I'm not sure if one could write a book on the history of the 2000GT but, it would make a great chapter in a book about Bond's other movie cars.

Grief, yes I remember this too.

It must have been just a couple of years after his DB5 book came out that he was looking for pictures of all cars.

A pity this one died but this sort of research must be so much easier now with the internet and email - god only knows what was involved in the DB5 book research prior to this help.

[Qwerty]

Turn, on 9 November 2005 - 19:54, said:

But who really gives much thought to the Toyota GT?

That's what is so cool about this article, and the others on CBn that cover the less examined aspects of the films and novels. Equally as interesting and sometimes far more intriguing than the "regular" more common aspects.

[zencat]

Really excellent article Stromberg. Like some others here said, the current Bond literature is pretty deficient when it comes to the YOLT Toyota, so almost everything I read here was brand new to me. Really interesting too. I think it would be great if one of the James Bond magazines picked this article up because it's really above and beyond the normal web stuff.

Again, great job. This is the kind of thing hardcore fans like me live for.

[stromberg]

Ah, kind words, that's what I need on a busy day like this. Thanks all.

Was a load of work, especially as I had to do a lot of cross-translations from French to English via German - and it wasn't as easy as I had thought at first.

There actually is a book on the history of the car (some of the pictures are from that one). But, like most of the information that is out there, it's in Japanese, and I can't handle that. Luckily, I found Luc Aellen's website www.2000gt.net, which is a real treasure of information. Kudos to him once again. I'm sure that his 2000GT vault looks very much like zencat's Bond vault.

And of course, thanks to Athena and Qwerty for helping me out getting it online.

[Qwerty]

zencat, on 10 November 2005 - 11:57, said:

I think it would be great if one of the James Bond magazines picked this article up because it's really above and beyond the normal web stuff.

Could not agree more Zen. Definitely deserving.

[doublenoughtspy]

Wonderful research and presentation Heiko. Well worth the wait!

I think my favorite nugget of info is the fact that Solex made part of the car.

That would have been a funny moment in MWGG if Roger had said "Hmm, they used to make carburetors" when he was told about the Solex Agitator.

[Byron]

Heiko i didn't realise that you were Stromberg.

Excellent article and having watched YOLT a few days ago it was even more relevent.

Well done, you definately deserve a pint of Franziskaner for your efforts! My shout

[Quartermaster007]

Excellent article.

Good to stock up on the lesser known Bond info.

[Bon-san]

Excellent article, Heiko!

I've always been a big fan of the Toyota 2000GT. And that's definitely the most info I've ever come across in regards to it's history before and after YOLT.

For years I've had my eye on an original Corgi diecast, but they go for some hefty dough. Someday!

[Mark_Hazard]

marktmurphy, on 10 November 2005 - 10:53, said:

Excellent work- I'll have a good read of this at lunch. I didn't know that Cars of the Stars had made a replica; that's very interesting. Do you know if that's the one that was at the Paris motor show in 1996?

Yes marktmurphy, the Toyota at the Paris Motor Show was from Cars of The Stars, if memory serves me correctly, it was the cars first public appearance.

Somewhere on my computer I have an article I wrote about (my visits to) the CoTS museum for the various 007 fan mags some years ago (can't remember if it was ever published), which includes a "chapter" on the Toyota - which mirrors some of Heiko's article, but also includes some details of Syd Cain's car which (from memory) mentions that the cars supplied to Eon where of a different colour. I'll have to dig it out and post the relevant section.

[stromberg]

Mark_Hazard, on 12 November 2005 - 00:58, said:

marktmurphy, on 10 November 2005 - 10:53, said:

Excellent work- I'll have a good read of this at lunch. I didn't know that Cars of the Stars had made a replica; that's very interesting. Do you know if that's the one that was at the Paris motor show in 1996?

Yes marktmurphy, the Toyota at the Paris Motor Show was from Cars of The Stars, if memory serves me correctly, it was the cars first public appearance.

Somewhere on my computer I have an article I wrote about (my visits to) the CoTS museum for the various 007 fan mags some years ago (can't remember if it was ever published), which includes a "chapter" on the Toyota - which mirrors some of Heiko's article, but also includes some details of Syd Cain's car which (from memory) mentions that the cars supplied to Eon where of a different colour. I'll have to dig it out and post the relevant section.

Yes, both cars were delivered in white. The Cain/Raynham car had a minor front damage and other repairs had to be done. As the original paint was a bit down, it got a new coat in grey. Recently saw pics of the car which is being restored. Looks like it's going to be white again when it's finished.

[Mark_Hazard]

I found my article and this is the section I wrote on the Toyota:

"During 1995 Peter Nelson informed me that a future addition for the Cars of The Stars Museum, was to be a replica of the Toyota 2000 GT as used in You Only Live Twice.

As Peter was unable to acquire the original ‘Bond’ Toyota (still owned by Toyota themselves), he decided to do the same as was done for the film - he bought a pre-production hard-top 2000 GT (Toyota never did produce a soft-top) and had the roof removed and a dummy folded "rag-top" fitted. A Sony tv/video link etc was to be fitted at a later date.

Happily, although the Toyota will be a replica, it will contain the original rear tv/video console as used in the film. Although the popular 60s Corgi model (recently re-issued) and Airfix kit depicted the vehicle as having missile launchers (four on the Corgi and one on the Airfix), the original was never fitted with these, and neither will the replica. The CoTS Toyota’s first public showing was as part of the "World of James Bond 007" exhibit at the Paris Motor Show in October 1996, where it appeared that only the tv/video equipment still had to be fitted - by mid 1999 the this had been installed, although (for security reasons) not a permanent fixture.

-----

As mentioned above, Toyota still own the original(?) ‘Bond’ 2000 GT, which resides in their own museum in Japan, although, according to my research, the tv/video equipment is not included (and may never have been fitted). Also according to my research, it would appear that a second 2000 GT was converted, possibly as a back-up vehicle (although it may have just been a test vehicle). It would also appear that one of these vehicles was scrapped in 1970, but their colours - one listed as blue, the other as silver/grey (whatever happened to the white?) - make it difficult to determine which one. The survivor (again, according to my research) is finished in a metallic silver/grey. For the close-up studio shots (and where the tv/video equipment is within camera shot) it would appear that yet a third vehicle (or mock-up) was used, although not a 2000 GT - as (if you check the DVD or video) the windscreen is raked at a more upright angle, also, in some shots the mirror and mount are different (including a central stanchion). By the way, you probably know that the 2000 GT index (registration) number in the film was 20.00 - but did you happen to notice that of the Toyota Crown that was "dropped in the ocean"? - 20.07

Whenever an Aston Martin is mentioned in the press, it is invariably coupled with James Bond - this craze seems to have carried over to the Toyota 2000 GT. In May 1996, at a Brooks sale of "Sports, Competition and Touring Cars" - Lot 205 was listed as a Toyota 2000 GT, supposedly having appeared in You Only Live Twice being driven by Sean Connery. The problem was, the vehicle was a silver hard-top (index number 9 FXD); another error in their catalogue, was that they mentioned missiles being fitted to the car. Because of these contradictions, I set about trying to find something like the truth (that sounds like the title of a play made into a film, before the title was changed). I approached the auctioneers, to enquire about their source of information, and informed them about my doubts. According to Mr Robert Brooks himself, their information was that the vehicle had been a stand-by for the one used in the film (unlikely with a hard-top). Someone else suggested that Syd Cain (production designer on a number of the Bond movies, hence the connection) was a previous owner. Talking to Syd Cain, he informed me that Toyota had sent two pre-production hard-top 2000 GTs to Eon for publicity purposes, a red left-hand and a white right-hand drive car. After time with Eon (I don’t think they were ever seriously considered for stand-bys), both vehicles were disposed of, Syd Cain acquiring the white one (paying the import tax and duty) for

[stromberg]

Some interesting info on the closed cars delivered to Eon. Not sure if the second car was originally painted in red - acording to my sources, they were both white. The one with the sunroof as red when it was sold back to Japan, but this could as well be a repainting.

The "Twiggy" car is definitely not one of those two. Twiggy got hers - MF10-10130, painted in gold - as a gift for promoting the car on the 1967 Tokyo Motor show.



It was brought to the UK, where it was stored away because Twiggy had no driving license and prefered being driven by her chauffeur in a Rolls. Toyota then bought the car back for use as a movie car in an episode of "The ugliest girl in town".
Today, this car resides - now painted in red - at the Toyota Vintage Vehicle Museum in Torrance, California.